Disclaimer: This story is fictional and any
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may discuss or engage in homosexual acts, some of whom are underage.
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A Fish Out of Water

6. Summer Fireworks

"I can't
believe we're doing this," I said as
I sat behind the wheel of our minivan, tooling down Highway 29. Dad
was seated
next to me in the front passenger seat, and the rest of the family,
including
David, were spread out among the remaining seats. That Dad was letting
me
drive, particularly on a holiday, was amazing by itself, but none
of us was prepared for the surprise
our parents sprang on us the previous night, right after dinner.

Up 'til that
very moment, we all assumed we'd be spending the Fourth of July
holiday working
on painting the house. After all, the work needed to be done, and the
sooner we
finished it, the sooner we could get the house on the market. True, we
were
ahead of schedule, thanks in particular to David and me, but I never
expected any kind of reprieve,
other than perhaps to watch a local fireworks display at most.

What a shock
it was to all of us, when our parents announced that we would be
leaving first
thing in the morning for Washington! My parents had booked a few rooms
in
Arlington, Virginia, in a Holiday Inn where we'd previously stayed.
There was
one double room for the boys, one double room for the girls, and a
single room
for the 'rents. Getting an early start as we were, it would be an easy
hour-long drive to Arlington, right across the Potomac from
Georgetown, and
from there, a short fifteen-minute ride on the DC Metro to the
National Mall.

It would be
crowded for sure, but we'd have nearly two full days to spend at the
Smithsonian Institution and on the National Mall, and thanks to the
location of
our hotel, we wouldn't have to fight the crowds to see the
fireworks - we'd
have a perfect vantage point to see them, right from our hotel rooms.
Mom and
Dad must have reserved the rooms as a surprise, before we
decided to paint the house, and decided not to cancel the
reservation. Way to go Mom and Dad!

It sure was
different driving a minivan than driving a car. For one thing, I was a
lot
farther forward than in our car, and that took some getting used to.
Dad talked
me through it on the streets in our neighborhood before we got
anywhere near a
major road, let alone the Baltimore Beltway. Being farther
forward - I think I
was actually over the front wheels -
made for a really weird feeling whenever I made a turn. It was kind of
like my
whole body turned before the rest of the minivan did. Maybe that was
an
exaggeration, but it sure felt like it.

I was also a
lot higher off the ground than with our car, and Dad warned me how
that could
lead to a sense of overconfidence. When you look down on everyone
else, you
tend to think you have a greater margin of safety, but you really
don't, and an
accident's an accident, no matter how far off the ground you are. He
also
cautioned me about the risks of a higher center of gravity and how
that
actually increases the chance of a rollover accident.

Well, with
the whole family in the car and Dad sitting right next to me, the last
thing I was gonna do was to hot-dog
it. I was on my best behavior, and being extra cautious. Where the
speed limit
read fifty-five, I went fifty-five, and not a mile-an-hour more, much
to the
dismay of the cars behind me.

When we
reached Silver Spring, Dad had me pull into a gas station and he took
the
wheel. As he put it, there was no way I was ready to take on the
Washington
Beltway, particularly in holiday traffic. Seeing my dad take the tight
twists
and turns of the beltway at close to seventy miles-an-hour - the
speed at which everyone seemed to be going - I was
sure glad he was the one driving!

Once we
crossed over the American Legion Bridge and turned onto the George
Washington
Parkway, things were a lot easier,
but Dad thought it best that he keep driving, given the heavy traffic.
When
someone suddenly cut us off trying to get over to their exit, I was
glad that
he'd insisted.

Before we
knew it, we reached our exit, which was the one for the Key Bridge and
Georgetown. We, however, were staying
on the Virginia side of the Potomac, in Arlington, a block away from
the
Rosslyn Metro station. Dad deftly pulled the minivan into the hotel,
where they
had a self-park garage attached. As guests, we could park there for
next to
nothing and leave our car there for the next two days while we went
everywhere
we wanted by Metro.

Although we
were way too early for check-in, our rooms were ready, so they let us
check in
early. Sweet! We were on the second floor from the top - the top
floor being
taken up entirely by a restaurant. How sick was that? Each room had
its own
balcony with a couple of chairs, and the most spectacular view
imaginable. Our
rooms were all on the southeast side of the building, with a
magnificent view
of the entire National Mall, including the Lincoln, Jefferson and
Washington
monuments, the Reflecting Pool, all the buildings of the Smithsonian
Institution, both buildings of the National Gallery of Art, the White
House and
the U.S. Capitol. The Mall was already filling up with people, and
when we came
back to our rooms this evening, we'd have a better view than any of
them of the
fireworks.

Turning to
David and putting my arm around his shoulder, I said, "We used to come
here all
the time to see the fireworks when I was younger, but it's been a few
years
since the last time we did. I guess the 'rents figured we'd do it one
last
time. The nice thing about this hotel is it costs less than half what
you'd pay
for the ones on the other side of the river, it's a whole lot easier
for us to
get to it from where we live in Baltimore and we don't have to
brave the crowds for the best views of the fireworks, bar
none. On top of all that, we can spend two whole days sightseeing and
avoid the
worst of the traffic in and out of Washington in the process," I
added.

"This is so awesome, Danny," David said. "I just
can't believe your parents are doing this for me. I can't believe I'm
here with
you."

Giving his
shoulder a gentle squeeze, I told him, "It's hardly costing them
anything extra
to bring you along, and besides, they love you as much as I
do."

"I wish my
parents could accept me the way yours have," David said as his voice
caught in
his throat.

My heart
went out to him in that moment, and I grabbed him in a tight embrace,
kissing
him softly on the lips - not with tongue or anything, but just to
let him know
he was loved.

"Are we
going to have to see that the whole time we're here?" Shimmy asked, a
bit more
loudly than necessary.

Fortunately,
Izzy interceded on our behalf by answering, "Just wait until you
have a girlfriend, Shimmy."

"Who said I
want a girl-friend," Shimmy said with
a giggle. All three of our heads swiveled instantly in his direction,
at which
point he added, "GOTCHA!" with a mischievous grin. "One gay boy in the
family's
enough."

Turning back
to David, I said, "My parents have always insisted on us all sticking
together,
so we don't get lost, but for fuck's sake, I'm sixteen now, and we all
have
cell phones. Shit, if I had to, I could get us all the way home from
here by
Metro, train and taxi. I know how to take care of myself in an
emergency, and I
know my way around the tourist sites as well as anyone. I want to show
it all
to you, but I can't if I have to stick with the family."

"That would
be great, Danny, but don't get in trouble
on my account," he said.

"I'm not
doing it for you, David," I
explained, "I'm doing it for us."

"I like the
sound of that," he agreed, and then we kissed again, and this time, we
did
allow our passion to get the best of us and opened our mouths to each
other's
tongues. It was the sound of Izzy clearing his throat to let us know
that Dad
was in the room that finally brought us back to earth. What could we
do but
sheepishly smile? We'd been caught, red-handed.

"I just
wanted to let you boys know that we'll be heading out in five
minutes," Dad let
us all know.

"Um, Dad?" I
started to ask, "I'm sixteen now, and David's fifteen, and he's never
seen
Washington before. I'd like to show him the Lincoln Memorial, and the
Washington Monument, and the Jefferson Memorial, and the FDR Memorial,
and the
Vietnam and Korean and World War II Memorials, and get him started
seeing the
Smithsonian and so on," I said, all in one breath.

Laughing,
Dad said, "Yes, of course you would, Danny. Your mom and I already
discussed it,
and we figured you two would probably want to strike out on your own.
There's
no way the rest of us could keep up with you, especially with such an
ambitious
agenda.

"You're old
enough to take care of yourselves, but we want to hear from you, every
hour, on
the hour, just for our peace of mind. Set your cell phone so you don't
forget,
Danny. If you don't call us, we'll call you, but you might not hear us
with all
the noise of the crowd, so pay attention to the time. If we have to,
we can
have the police track you down from your cell phone's GPS signal, but
that
would be embarrassing for all concerned, so better still, call us."

"That's
fair," I agreed.

"Also, keep
in mind that pickpockets will be out in force today," Dad continued.
"What I
suggest you do is leave your backpacks behind and keep your wallet and
cell
phone in a fanny pack, tied to your belt and in front of you. That
will make it
much harder for someone to reach in and steal things from you, but not
impossible. The bottom line is you need to be aware of your
surroundings at all
times. The pickpockets are more likely to go after the easy targets,
so make it
hard to steal from you and they'll be more likely to target an easier
mark."

Smiling at
me warmly, Dad concluded by saying, "In two years, you'll be an adult,
Danny.
If I don't start trusting you now, how will you ever learn to take
responsibility?" he asked rhetorically. Wow, I'd never thought of what
it must
be like to be a parent, and to have to let go.

"Thanks,
Dad," I said as I hugged my father. "Thanks for trusting us."

"Oh, one
final thing, guys," Dad said before he left the room, "you two need to
be
careful showing affection in public," to which David and I gave Dad
the most
pathetic, 'you've got to be kidding' look imaginable. "Seriously," he
continued, "there are a hell of a lot of people who won't see your
relationship
the way Mom and I do, and particularly with the patriotic fervor of
the Fourth
of July, might take the opportunity to vent their frustrations at a
number of
things on the two of you. I wouldn't want to see you become the
victims of a
gay bashing or anything."

"We'll be
careful, Dad," I said as I rolled my eyes. "We're not stupid."

"I know,
Danny. I'm a parent, and it's natural for parents to worry too much."
Drawing
both of us into a hug, he said, "Have fun, boys. Be sure to be back at
the
hotel by six. We have a seven o'clock reservation at the restaurant,
and then
we'll catch the fireworks after that.

"Oh! And
here's some cash," he said as he got out his wallet and counted out a
hundred
forty dollars. "That should be plenty for the two of you."

David and I
each hugged Dad one last time, and then it was just the two of
us - and our
brothers, but they would be going out with our parents.

"Let's piss
one last time, and then we can head out," I suggested to my boyfriend.
"You
might also want to put on some sunscreen, since we'll be out in the
sun much of
the day," I added.

"It's a
fuckin' shame I didn't bring my camera down with me from New York,"
David
lamented, "but I wasn't expecting to be doing anything besides
painting."

"No prob,
lover," I told him. "You can use mine."

"Thanks,
Danny," he said with his trademark grin.

"Any place
in particular you'd like to start?" I asked as we headed down in the
elevator.

Shrugging
his shoulders, he suggested, "The White House?"

Laughing out
loud, I said, "Yeah, right. On the Fourth of July, the Obamas are
going to give
us a personal tour of the White House. I'm sure they don't have
anything better
to do, so I'll give old Barak a call on my cell phone to make sure
he's free,
and we'll head on over there right now."

Poor David
was doing everything he could to try to keep a straight face, but he
just lost
it. "OK, OK . . . maybe that was a lame idea," he
giggled. "All right, Mr.
Genius, why don't you lead the way
since you've been here before," he said.

"That's
better," I agreed. "At least now you've acknowledged who's the boss," I
said
with a broad grin.

"And we'll
see who's the boss when we get back to our room tonight," he reminded
me.

"That would
be good and well," I said, "except that Izzy and Shimmy are sharing
the room
with us."

"And that's
a problem because? . . ." David asked.

"Oooh . . . that's just plain nasty," I said.
"I am not having sex in the same room as my brothers."

"Don't say I
didn't offer," David giggled as we closed in on the Rosslyn Metro
station.

I purchased
a farecard for each of us and explained to him that unlike with the
New York
subway, fares are charged by the distance traveled, so you have to
insert your
farecard both on entering and on leaving each station. "They
also charge more during rush hour," I explained.

"Man, that
totally sucks," David protested. "New Yorkers complain about each fare
increase, but for a buck-ten off-peak, a student can ride anywhere
in New York by subway or regular bus. And you can buy daily,
weekly and monthly unlimited passes for a
flat rate, too. The monthly student pass is, like, only a buck-fifty a
day when
you think about it. Man, I'm spoiled."

"There's no
place like New York," I agreed, "but driving in New York is suicide."

"True that,"
he concurred. David was so cute! God, I loved him.

"Put your
farecard away for later, 'cause we're gonna walk for now," I told my
boyfriend,
and he arched his eyebrows. "We're right next to Arlington National
Cemetery,
which is as good a place to start as any, and there's no point in
taking the
Metro when we're already here. I just thought we should buy the
farecards now
so we wouldn't need to stand in line later, when we're in more of a
hurry."

"Good thinking,
Danny," David agreed.

"The only
problem with walking around this part of Arlington," I noted as we
attempted to
cross Wilson Boulevard, "is the traffic and the lack of good
pedestrian
walkways. Yes, they have skyways, but they're designed for the office
workers . . . not the tourists."

Following
Fort Meyer Boulevard, which ran into North Meade Street, we managed to
follow
an incredibly convoluted maze of roadways until we finally found our
way to the
Iwo Jima Memorial and the start of Arlington Cemetery. It was a good
thing I'd
been here before and had a good idea of where I was going, or I could
easily
have gotten lost. With a little perseverance and my generally good
sense of
direction, I had little difficulty finding my way to Arlington House,
from
which we were able to obtain a map that allowed us to locate John F.
Kennedy's
gravesite and memorial, the Challenger Astronauts' memorial, the tombs
of the
unknowns, and Lady Byrd Johnson Park.

The views of
Washington from Arlington Cemetery were phenomenal. At one point,
David slipped
his hand into mine. He couldn't help it, and I didn't stop him. He was
in
heaven, and so was I.

After
walking our asses off in the cemetery, we walked across the Potomac
via the
Arlington Memorial Bridge to find ourselves looking at the backside of
the
Lincoln Memorial. Of course I'd seen
the Lincoln Memorial many, many times, but this was the first time
David had
seen it. I could tell by the look on his face that he was in awe
of it. The sheer size of the
structure is enormous, and then to see America's sixteenth president
so 'larger
than life' like that can't help but inspire you, no matter what you
might think
of the man. The Fourth of July wasn't the best time to see the
memorial, as
there was a stage set up in front of it for the day's activities, but
even
then, the statue of Lincoln is so large that one couldn't help but be
struck by
its sheer size.

Yeah, I saw
that look in his face, and then he began to speak. "Imagine how
different the
world might be today if he'd lived, Danny," he said. "He took a
hodge-podge
alliance of independent states and made it a truly unified nation. The
Civil
War was a horribly bloody conflict that pitted entire families against
themselves, but he made America, kicking and screaming, into a beacon
of hope
that would shine brightly for centuries to come. It was that beacon of
hope
that brought our ancestors here," David said.

"Maybe he
wasn't entirely enamored of civil rights, but he single-handedly ended
slavery
on this continent, and had he lived, he'd have undoubtedly dismantled
the last
vestiges of what went on to become the core of Jim Crowe in the South.
Things
like forced school segregation, lynchings and the like might have
never
happened had Lincoln been able to complete his second term as
president.
Perhaps even women's suffrage would have happened sooner. This could
be a very
different world."

"Yes, there
are many things we'll never know," I agreed, "but it was
because of the hard-fought battle for civil rights that Martin
Luther King became the great leader that he did, and it took his
leadership to
pave the way for Barak Obama to become president."

Turning
around to look back at the Reflecting Pool, the Washington Monument,
the
Capitol, and the gathering crowds that were filling the National Mall,
David
said, "I think the Vietnam Memorial's supposed to be somewhere around
here."

"Yes, it's
right over to the left," I said, pointing in the general direction.
Unfortunately, the wall was crawling with people, perhaps ten layers
deep, so
getting anywhere near it was gonna be an exercise in futility today.

"I had a
great uncle who was killed in Vietnam," David said. "That war was such
a
tragedy. War in general is a tragedy, but Vietnam was such a waste."

After seeing
the Constitution Gardens and the World War II Memorial, we stopped for
a quick
bite at one of the many vendors set up around the Washington Monument.
Although
neither David nor I were particularly paying attention to whether or
not the
food was kosher, we ended up each getting a couple of Hebrew National
kosher
hotdogs. How ironic.

It was
already afternoon, and there weren't many options left that would let
us get
back to the hotel by six. Noting that the National Holocaust Museum was,
literally, right in front of us - a place I had yet to visit in
all my trips to
Washington - I asked David if he'd like to go there.

"Of course
I'd like to go there," he answered me. "It's important that everyone
see it."

I think we
were both surprised, and disappointed, to find that even with the huge
crowds
outside milling about the Mall, there weren't all that many people
inside the
museum. I guess not too many people wanted to be reminded of something
as
somber as the Holocaust on a joyous day like the Fourth of July.
Before we went
inside, I called Dad and let him know it might take us some time to
get through
the museum, and that I'd call him when we came out.

The museum
was absolutely incredible. We each had the opportunity to 'become'
someone for
the day - a real person who died in Hitler's Europe. Ordinarily,
I'd have
chosen the identity of a Jewish teenager, but noting that one of the
available
identities was that of a young, gay Jewish man, that's what I chose to
be
instead. I felt that I had to - it was a double strike against
me, but it was
the harsh reality of the times. David wasn't quite so brave, but then I
couldn't blame him, given his Hasidic background. He chose the
identity of a
teenager from the same town in Hungary as my character.

It was very
interesting, and much more real than I expected it to be, as we went
through
the events that led up to World War II as they unfolded. I really
hadn't
realized how gradually life had changed in Eastern Europe, year by
year,
through the years between the two world wars as the economic
depression took
hold and Hitler rose to power. The loss of freedoms was so gradual as
to be
insidious. Most people didn't even realize what was happening, but
they were
willing to do just about anything to restore some sort of stability to
their
lives as unemployment rose to unprecedented levels.

The Jews,
the disabled, gays and foreigners made excellent scapegoats. The Jews
of course
received the brunt of Hitler's wrath, because they were an integral
part of
German society, and there were so many prominent, successful Jews in
pre-war
Germany, just as there are today in the U.S. Taking the Jews down did
nothing
to alleviate the suffering of the German people, nor that of the
people who
collaborated in the countries they invaded, but there was something
satisfying
in seeing the once-mighty fall. It's not clear if the general populace
was
aware of the extent of the Holocaust, although most scholars believe
most were,
but to actually live it from the inside was pure Hell.

Progressing
through the museum, David and I got to sample just a taste of that
Hell without
enduring it ourselves. Through seeing samples of our subjects'
clothing,
writing and other artifacts, we came face-to-face with the lives they
experienced in their final days. I was sixteen, and David was nearly
so. We
thought of ourselves as being nearly adults, and yet going through the
Holocaust Museum made us feel terribly inadequate. The experience was
humbling.

When we
finished the museum, it was already four o'clock, just, and that left
very
little time for anything else. "We could see the Jefferson Memorial
and the FDR
Memorial, and then hightail it back across to the cemetery to catch
the Metro
back to our hotel, or we could catch the Metro at the Smithsonian
station right
now if you want to head back to our hotel a little early," I said
suggestively.

"Please
don't take this the wrong way, Danny," David said, "but after spending
the
afternoon in the Holocaust Museum, I think a long walk would do me
some good,
and I don't much feel like making out right now, if you know what I
mean."

"Good," I
said, "'cause I pretty much feel the same way."

From the
museum, we started walking around the Tidal Basin, stopping first at
the
Jefferson Memorial to admire the statue of the author of the
Declaration of
Independence and our third president. We then continued on around to
see the
FDR Memorial, which really blew me away. This was my first time seeing
it, and
it was awesome. There were several
statues of FDR, and one of him was even with him in a wheelchair.

"We tend to
forget that he was our first president with a disability," I said when
I saw
that. "They should teach us more about that in school," I said.

"Definitely,"
David agreed. "I wonder how long it'll be before we have a gay
president," he went on to say.

"Ha! Not in our lifetimes," I said.

"Prolly
not," David agreed with obvious sadness in his voice.

Descending
the escalator into the bowels of the Metro station at Arlington
Cemetery, David
said, "Wow, this is so sleek and modern. What a contrast to the New
York
subways."

"Yeah, but
all the stations here look exactly alike," I countered, "and there
aren't any
musicians allowed or anything. The New York subway has more
character," I pointed
out.

"That's a
polite way of putting it," David agreed.

We only went
one stop, and got off at Rosslyn. We could have walked it, but we
barely made
it by six o'clock as it was. Taking turns using the shower with Izzy
and
Shimmy, who talked non-stop about the fun they'd had seeing the
newly-reopened SmithsonianMuseum of Natural History,
we all got ready for dinner.

Ordinarily
when we travel, we try to stick to kosher restaurants, but tonight it
would easier to just eat in the hotel, since we wanted to catch the
fireworks immediately after dinner. In situations such as this, we
tended to stick to eating fish - not seafood, which is an
abomination; fish
without scales are forever unclean - but fish is inherently
kosher. The only
problem is that the tableware is seldom kosher, but we generally would
overlook
that fact for expediency when we travel.

There was
actually a very nice dinner buffet available which I might have
considered for
myself, had I known what my boyfriend was about to do, but none of the
items
were remotely kosher, so I had scoped out the salmon fillet from the
menu and
was planning to order it, with a side salad. Mom had already ordered
the
grilled snapper and Sarah had ordered the fillet of sole.

So long as I
live, I will never forget the looks on the faces of all my family
members when
the waiter came to David for his order and he said, "I'll have the New
England
clam chowder to start, and for my main course I'd like the
bacon-wrapped
scallops with bearnaise sauce." None of those items is even remotely
kosher.

The waiter
then asked, "Would you like that with rice pilaf, or with our
signature
twice-baked potato with bacon and cheddar cheese?"

"Definitely
the potato," David answered.

I don't
think there was a closed mouth around the table after he said that. I
really
had my heart set on the salmon, but the thought of eating something so
wickedly
decadent as what David was having definitely had its appeal.

After the
shock had finally worn off and everyone started placing their orders,
the
waiter finally got to me, and I was still torn about what I should do.
David
opened up a new way of thinking of food to me, and I suddenly felt
like being
adventurous, but not in front of my parents. It's one thing to
rebel, but to do so openly in front of those you love is a
whole other matter.

It was Dad, sensing my turmoil, who
broke my internal deadlock for me. "Danny," he said, "you should order
what you want . . . not what you think we
want you to order. We won't think any
less of you for breaking with our traditions. After all, I expect
you're going
to do so after you leave home anyway." How did he know?

Turning to
the waiter, I said, "I'll have what my boyfriend's having." God, did I
really
say that? Instead of making a big deal about it, however, the waiter
smiled at
me, and winked. Maybe he was one of us.

I know my
family was a little grossed out by what David and I were eating, and
although I
could have done without the smoky taste of the bacon, I never tasted
anything
more heavenly than the scallops. They were fucking awesome.

Back at our
room, we all stripped down to our shorts, and David and I let Izzy and
Shimmy
have the chairs on the balcony while we stood, arm-in-arm to watch the
show
that was about to begin. We had an absolutely perfect view of the
National Mall
from where we stood. Once the fireworks started, there was a
continuous barrage
of light and color that went on and on for nearly an hour without
letup. It was
an amazing feast for the eyes.

When it was
finally over, David turned to me and said, "That was incredible.
Absolutely incredible. That even beat the show they
have over the East River back home, and that's saying a lot. Please
thank your
parents again for bringing me here."

"I'm just
glad I was able to share it with you, David," I said, and then I gave
him a
peck on the lips, and then another. Before long we had our arms around
each
other and were making out like no-one's business.

"They're at
it again," I heard Shimmy sigh.

"Yeah, but
it's pretty cool, the way they love each other," Izzy said, which made
me feel
warm inside.

Extracting
my tongue from my lover's mouth, I said, "Let's get to bed, babe, so
we can get
an early start tomorrow."

"I wonder if
this hotel has a game room," David suddenly asked.

"Yeah, it does.
We passed it on the way out of here this morning, but why on earth are
you
bringing it up now?" I asked.

"C'mon,
Shimmy," Izzy said, apparently catching David's intent right away,
"it's too
early for bed, so lets hit the arcade for a while, or maybe we could
go for a
swim," he said as he rummaged through his luggage and got out his swim
trunks."

"Oh, OK, a
swim and the arcade would be cool," Shimmy agreed as he got out his
own swim
trunks and changed into them.

Izzy grabbed
his wallet and cell phone, and both my brothers departed, just like
that.

"Alone at
last," David said with a wicked grin on his face.

"How the
fuck did you just do that?" I asked
incredulously.

"I just
don't think they wanted to see this," my boyfriend said as I felt my
shorts and
boxers slide to the floor. When the hell did he manage to unbuckle my
belt?
"Make love to me, Danny," he continued. "I want you to make love to
me, all the
way."

Raising my
eyebrows, I said, "But I didn't bring anything."

"But I did,
Danny," he countered as he wiggled his eyebrows. He then went to his
luggage
and got out a pack of condoms and a tube of lubricant. "I just love
you so
much, Danny," he continued, "so much sometimes that I can't stand it."

This was
something new to both of us, and I could tell by the look of
apprehension on
David's face that he was as nervous as I was. "Are you sure you want
to do
this, David?" I asked.

"No, I'm not sure," he answered earnestly. "I'm
afraid it will hurt like hell, but I'm so excited at the prospect of
feeling
you inside of me, if we don't do it
tonight, I'll kick myself. I want it, Danny. I want you. I've been
wanting
you. With playing musical bedrooms when we get back, who knows when
we'll get
the chance back home? Don't you want
to?" he asked.

"More than
anything," I answered, "and I'd like to feel you inside of me, too,
and there's
no reason we can't try it both ways. I just want to be a part of you
in the
most intimate way possible."

With both of
us naked and under the sheets, we resumed our making out, exploring,
fondling,
kissing, licking, sucking, and nibbling on each other in every way
possible. I
don't know if it was because David had been preparing himself, or
because I
took my time to really loosen him up, but with all of the horror
stories I'd
read on the internet about searing pain from anal penetration, I think
we were
both genuinely surprised, and delighted when my dick slid right in.

"Are you
sure it's in all the way?" David asked.

"Sure I'm
sure," I told him.

"Well, I
guess yours is kinda small," he said.

"What do you
mean, 'kinda small'?" I asked incredulously. "It's at least as
large as yours."

"No way!" he
chided me with a fake smile that let me know he was teasing me.
"Seriously,
though, I was expecting it to hurt a lot,
and I hardly felt any pain at all. In fact, it feels pretty damn
good."

"Lets see if
I can make it feel even better," I said as I gave him a peck on the
lips, and
then withdrew nearly all the way, and slowly pushed my condom-clad
cock back in
all the way.

"Oh God! No
need to be so gentle, Danny," he said with encouragement. "The feeling
when you
hit my prostate is un-fucking-believable. Try thrusting a little
harder next
time."

Well of
course I did, which caused him to actually moan, and the next thrust
made him
moan even loader. I was beginning to worry that my sisters next door
might hear
us, so I covered his mouth with mine and kissed him deeply as I sped
up my
thrusts.

I had hoped
we might both get a chance to take turns at this, but I guess we spent
more
time than I had thought, as my brothers returned not long after David
and I had
finished our first round of lovemaking. In fact, we were still
entwined in each
other's arms, slick with David's cum, which was copiously smeared
between our
bodies. My member had barely softened and slipped out of David, and
the condom
was even still in place. We were talking about the incredibly good
feelings we
had just shared when the room was suddenly flooded with a shaft of
bright light
from the hallway.

"Shhh," I
heard Izzy say. "I think maybe they've gone to sleep."

"They sure
had more than enough time," Shimmy said. "Of course they went to
sleep."

"Actually,
we just finished up," I called out to my brothers.

"Oooh, TMI,"
Izzy acknowledged.

"Geez, it stinks in here," Shimmy shouted as the
smell of our lovemaking suddenly assaulted his nostrils. "How the fuck
are we
supposed to get to sleep with it smelling like a brothel in
here."

"How do you
know what a brothel smells like, bro?" I kidded Shimmy. "I didn't even
know you
knew what the word meant."

"Fuck you,
Danny, but seriously, it smells like sex in here."

"And you
would know this how?" I asked again.

"It's all
those late-night jerk-off sessions, I would guess," David answered for
him as
he sat up in our bed and turned on the light. When he did so, the
still-wet cum
could be seen to glisten on his chest.

"I sooo did not need to see that, guys,"
Izzy said as he practically stared at David's chest. When he continued
to just
stare, and noticed that we were, in turn, staring at him, he just
shrugged his
bare shoulders and said, "Well, I'm not gay or anything, but it's kind
of hot,
you know? . . . I'll be right back." And with that,
Izzy disappeared behind a
closed bathroom door.

Yeah, I did
know. The sight of David's cum-slick chest was turning me on to no
end, but
then I had reason to be turned on. David was my boyfriend, after all.

"I'm not
sure I want to know what he's up to," Shimmy laughed. "I just gotta
get me a
girlfriend," he added.

"I'm just
glad I got a boyfriend," I said.

"And don't
we all know it," Shimmy said with a smile - the first time he'd
really
acknowledged my relationship in a positive manner. I liked that he
did.

Just then,
Izzy emerged from the bathroom and said, "Much better."

"Shimmy," I
asked, "you need to use the bathroom before David and I shower?"

"Nah, you
guys go ahead," he said.

David and I
had been taking showers together the entire time we'd been painting
the house -
so much so that we had the whole thing down to a science now. We knew
exactly
how to get each other clean in the most efficient way possible, and
how to give
each other the most pleasure and get each other off without wasting
any more
water than necessary. In a household where we shared hot water with
eight other
people, that was an absolute necessity.

Even though
we'd both cum just moments before, we managed to do it again. We were
all
smiles by the time we turned out the lights that night. All around, it
had been
an incredible day, and an incredible evening.

July 5 was
another great day of sightseeing for David and me on the National
Mall. After
showing him all the different museums that lined the mall, we ended up
spending
nearly the entire day at the SmithsonianNational Air and Space
Museum. It
had been years since I'd been there, and everything was new to David.
Someday,
we'd definitely have to make it a point to come back for a weekend, or
maybe
even an entire week to see the rest.

Heading home
was pretty anticlimactic, but once we exited the Capital Beltway, Dad
let me
take the wheel again and I got to drive the whole rest of the way
home, on U.S.
29, Interstate 70 and even the Baltimore Beltway, and in our
neighborhood,
right up to our own house.